“Fantastic People and a Great Company Culture”

Scott, how did you first come across GenTwo?

I’d just left the Bitcoin company NYDIG and was having a conversation with another firm that was looking to expand their US footprint with a focus on structured products. One of the individuals I was speaking with happened to be a friend and former colleague of Patrick Loepfe at GenTwo. GenTwo was going through a similar exercise – they were also interested in exploring possibilities in the US market. GenTwo is trying to unlock assets and make it easier to access traditional and alternative assets through securitization. I have a lot of experience that is very close to what GenTwo is doing. I connected with Patrick and Philippe, and after some conversations they offered me a seat on their Advisory Board.

Tell us a bit about your career up to now.

I’ve lived in New York City for the past 25 years but grew up in Philadelphia. I studied industrial engineering at Northwestern University outside of Chicago, Illinois. I got my start in finance and equity derivatives at Morgan Stanley as a trading assistant on their equity structured products desk. I eventually left to join Wachovia, which later became part of Wells Fargo. There I spent the next 15 years in a variety of roles centred around the equity structured products business.  

First as a derivative trader and then moving on to launch a run a new trading platform dedicated solely to structured products that incorporated pricing, hedging, on-going risk management, secondary markets, and other life cycle events. Eventually I went on to co-head the entire structured business which included product development and sales and distribution to institutional and retail clients. In 2021 I left to join a startup Bitcoin firm, NYDIG, to help build their asset management business.

What do you see as your role at GenTwo?

Initially, my role is to help define the opportunity for GenTwo in the US through gathering market intelligence and tapping into my existing network. Then ultimately develop a business strategy, execute on that strategy and launch operations in the US.  

What are the opportunities you see for GenTwo in the US market?

The opportunities are two-pronged. First, I think GenTwo is well positioned from an existing product standpoint, to engage US asset-managers in both traditional and alternative assets, whereby those asset managers can utilize the GenTwo Pro platform to help build out their own distribution footprint into global markets including Europe and especially LatAm.  For US investors, there are terrific opportunities in alternative markets to make the investing process more efficient for both managers and allocators. 

For traditional assets, I think there is a product opportunity between managed accounts and funds for customization at scale.  I believe GenTwo could be the company to make that work. They have an established business with tried-and-tested expertise, technology and experience; not to mention fantastic people and a great company culture. I’m super impressed so far.

What challenges do you expect to be facing?

Regulation and Education. First and foremost, will be to address the different regulatory framework of the US versus Switzerland. Product offerings like Actively Managed Certificates is not a new product globally, but they have yet to take a foothold in the US.  Once we can effectively navigate the regulatory landscape and educate US clients on the cost and customization benefits of an AMC offering, I think we’ll see the US take-off.  

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?

I’m happiest when strolling around Battery Park City, where I live in downtown Manhattan, with my wife, 2 boys, aged 9 and 12, and our dog, Chase.  Nowadays, our weekends are quite busy running around the city for the boy’s sporting events.  They’re involved in both basketball and baseball.  I coach both of their little league teams in the Spring.  It gets busy, but I wouldn’t change a thing.  When our weekends are free, we sneak in quick ski trips in the Winter, and in the Spring/Summer it’s a Yankees game up in the Bronx.